


What Makes A Bridezilla?

by neutralbrick



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Weddings, someone's got cold hooves yall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:13:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24984385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neutralbrick/pseuds/neutralbrick
Summary: Splinter and Draxum's wedding day has arrived. The turtles and April have been working all day to make sure everything is perfect for the couple to be, however, Draxum's behavior has become worrying, seemingly calling off the wedding and locking himself in his room. Splinter's the only one who can find out why.
Relationships: Baron Draxum/Splinter (TMNT)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 46





	What Makes A Bridezilla?

**Author's Note:**

> This is set like WAY after Draxum fully redeems himself since he's only just started that path in the show because I love it old men in love AND when people strive to do right by one another. Joseph is also in here because I'm in love with the little meat baby and the potential he has for Draxum, paternally speaking.
> 
> For reference of what Draxum and Splinter look like:  
> https://barondraxum.tumblr.com/post/621820632607375360/barondraxum-after-your-bridezillas-8th-meltdown

It was a beautiful day, the sun breaking through the smog of New York City and the chirps of the various birds raising above the usual bustle of cars that dominated the air. Hardly consequential in the sewers, but a good omen all the same.

The base the turtles and Splinter called home was uncharacteristically spiffy: no forgotten pizza boxes left to rot, rooms cleaned top to bottom though the boys skimped on such diligence in their own bedrooms, and thoughtfully organized like Donnie’s lab. Notably, it was decorated: various items of white were scattered in the main room: streamers, table cloths that felt cheap and had complex patterns no one would look at, flowers nicked from local parks and unsuspecting gardeners, and the mismatched collection of vases that held them. The ones spray-painted were already chipping in some areas. Mikey covered them with colorful stickers like the ones on his shell. The crowning gem was a makeshift white stage in the center of the room, painted with flowers and hearts thanks to a joint effort from April and Raph. April’s designs were bigger and bold while Raph’s were delicate and time-consuming. It had a white arch with ivy and flowers entwined in it, though Leo discovered halfway through hot glue and staples would make the process go faster than braiding the foliage properly. That side’s ivy was sagging horribly.

It was tacky, thrown together, and simply perfect.

All it needed was the couple to be.

“Oh nonononono! Guys, we have a major problem!” Leo alerted, running into the kitchen in his baby blue tux where Mikey and Donnie, who were similarly dressed in orange and purple, were meticulously decorating a three-layer cake. The suddenness of his entrance caused Donnie to misplace the wedding topper by a couple of millimeters from the center. It was a crude but lovingly made replica of Splinter and Draxum. Donnie’s eye twitched.

“If Joseph got out of the lab, I already gave you the command to activate Sheldon’s hunt and snare protocol, Leo.” Donnie grumbled, again attempting to place the cake topper.

“No, it’s worse! It’s-!” Leo began, interrupted by Mikey’s dramatic gasp.

“Did Joseph get out of his onesie? After we all spent hours getting him in there?!” Mikey exclaimed, wide-eyed.

“Not that-!”

“Joseph's grease ruined Raph’s dress again?!”

“No-!”

Mikey let out an even more dramatic gasp. “Don’t tell me… Mayhem ate Joseph?! Oh, he was so young!” Tears had begun to weld up in Mikey’s eyes.

“IT’S NOT JOESPH! IT’S DRAXUM!” The volume of Leo’s outburst made Donnie drop the wedding topper, fumbling with it as he just barely caught it before it touched the ground. He let out a deep sigh.

“Well, dear brother, why don’t you tell us the issue so we can fix it and get back to our responsibilities?” Donnie said through gritted teeth, determined to make this wedding cake perfect despite his brother’s interruptions.

“He’s called off the wedding!” Despite the concern in Leo’s voice, Mikey let out a small laugh.

“Oh Leo, he’s been doing that for weeks, don’t worry. First, it was because he was mad he couldn’t find the right dress, then because the tables and chairs weren’t symmetrical, then it was because the lights were too bright and then too dim and then too bright again, and-” Mikey was gleefully listing examples of the new bridezilla Draxum had become as the wedding date got closer. Draxum found issues with everything down to how the napkins were folded and working himself up to loud outbursts and threats about going back to his apartment with Joseph and acting like this never happened. After some intervention from Splinter and the turtles, Draxum would eventually stop his rampages and calm down until he inevitably got fixated on yet another minor detail only he could see. This cycle repeated, growing with intensity as the wedding date neared. Just today, Draxum got hooked up on his hair not being quite right, insisting that it meant the wedding was ruined. Leo was attempting to calm Draxum down before he rushed into the kitchen.

“It’s different this time: he’s quiet.” Leo stressed the last word.

“So? Isn’t that the point of calming down a wild bridezilla?” Donnie asked condescendingly, wishing for such a result from when he was at the receiving end of Draxum’s meltdowns.

“You don’t get it! He’s like quiet, quiet. Like ‘silently got up and said he can’t do this in the middle of me speaking to him’ kind of quiet. He locked himself in his room and won’t even say anything to someone as charming and inviting as me! I think he’s serious this time!” Leo said, panic evident in his voice and mannerisms. Mikey and Donnie looked at each other. This was bad.

This was really, REALLY bad.

Dropping everything, the pair rushed off to Draxum’s room, Leo trailing anxiously behind them. Leo may be stuck, but group effort might work better than a one on one. Reaching the door, Mikey tried the knob only to confirm it was indeed locked prompting Donnie’s inspection.

“Hm… you know, I don’t think dad will mind one broken lock if it means getting him his special day!” Donnie’s battle shell, the new white model prepared just for today, then sprang to life with drills, claws, and lasers emerging as he impulsively planned to simply break his way in. Mikey dived between Donnie and the door before his assault could begin, his back pressed against it protectively.

“NO! We can’t just drag Draxum out!”

“Why not? Talking didn’t work! I tried for like, 10 minutes! 10!” Leo pointed out, wanting this issue to be solved and fast.

“If we drag him out without addressing what’s wrong, he’s just gonna find another door to lock himself behind!”

“We could tie him up.”

“DONNIE!”

“Alright, alright, too far.” Donnie raised his hands defensively, retracting the various gadgets of his battle shell. “I guess we can try talking again. On average, he acts 20.932% more favorably to you than us, so I suggest you take the lead, Dr. Feelings.”

“Oh, good plan!” Mikey turned to the door, getting into character before tentatively knocking on the door to no answer. “Draxum?” Mikey knocked with more determination. “Draxy?” Still no response. Mikey began to speak with a gentle yet professional voice.

“Hey, I understand you’ve been really stressed about today for a while now, but we have to express emotions like this in a healthy manner. Not screaming at people for half an hour and definitely not by avoiding the issue by hiding in your room. Talking about whatever’s bothering you is the best way to handle it and all three of us, me, Donnie, and Leo, are here to listen.”

“Yeah like I was trying to do for 10 minutes…” Leo mumbled under his breath, rewarded with a swift elbow to the ribs from Mikey.

“Now, I think it would be best and most productive for all of us if you unlock the door and let us talk to you.”

No answer.

“Or we can just talk through the door just like this!”

Not a word.

Mikey looked over at his brothers for help, Donnie stepping up to the plate.

“Well if you’re worried about the marriage not lasting, don’t worry: at the national level, only 40 to 50% of marriages end in divorce! Better yet, this is often due to financial issues and, because of our respective status as mutants and wanted-yokai-criminal-who-is-effectively-banished-to-the-surface, money really is not something we have to worry about, so the odds are in your favor!” Donnie ended with a smug smile, satisfied with his work. Leo and Mikey looked at him in horror.

“50%?! A coin toss about his future is supposed to make him feel better?!” Leo whispered harshly. Donnie, realizing his mistake, scrambled to give more context.

“Uh- in New York State, only 8.4% of marriages end in divorce! And there is a correlation between this and people getting married later in life, so, statistically, you and dad have an amazing chance at this marriage lasting! Heh…” Donnie let out a nervous laugh as his brothers turned back to the door, listening intently.

Somehow, the room seemed even more silent than before.

“...We have to get dad.” Mikey whispered urgently.

“WHAT?!” Leo exclaimed before quickly composing himself and lowering his voice. “Yeah, because you want to break it to a man on his wedding day that his bride got cold feet! Er, hooves…? What are we gonna say? ‘Oh hey dad, you know how your last proposal went horribly wrong? We’ll this one is going south too, and fast!’ You want to do that?!” Leo questioned, his mind already made up.

“What else are we supposed to do?! Dr. Feelings didn’t work, Dr. Delicate Touch would just freak him out more, and Donnie’s stupid numbers probably just made this even worse!” Mikey hurled out, agitated and worried beyond belief.

“Hey! Statistics are not stupid! It is a legitimate field of mathematical study that may or may not be easily manipulated to make things look as though they’re in your favor!” Donnie shot back.

“Oh sure, because you certainly skewed the results in your favor by telling sheep man he had a 50-50 shot of dad dumping him after all of this!” Leo mocked, still angry Donnie screwed up so badly.

The three continued to argue in front of the door, making no headway towards deciding their course of action. Their squabble was only interrupted by a crash, followed by their dad and April shouting.

“April, go that way! Corner him!”

“Joseph! Get your greasy butt over here and away from the kitchen!”

Another impact was heard along with a groan of pain from Raph who presumingly ran into a wall attempting to catch the baby mutant. The sound of a few altercations later, Splinter came rolling down the hallway the boys were in, having tackled Joseph and tumbling as a result. Finally coming to a stop in a sitting position in front of them with a giggling Joseph in his arms, Splinter let out a sigh of relief. April and Raph were soon to join them, both dressed in similar flowing dresses, Raph’s red and sporting a flower headband while April in lime green opted for two bows to hold her usual pom-poms.

“Joseph! What did I say about running away like that? That’s a big fat no-no!” April scolded, met only with joyful coos.

“Here pops, I’ll take him.” Raph said, scooping Joseph up in his arms only for the infant to start playing with his headband to Raph’s mild dismay.

Splinter sat on the ground, out of breath: he hadn’t had to run like that since Leo was a toddler and got into Splinter’s weapon stash only to start throwing shurikens. Splinter was incredibly disheveled after this game of chase; his white bow tie undone, the chest of his golden shirt open, white pants wrinkled, his jacket lost at some point during the chase, and his hair unkempt after hours of choosing the right look, several bobby pins visible. At least he wasn’t covered in grease: the mystic onesie Draxum and Donnie collaborated on for Joseph helped keep that in check. Too bad it couldn’t keep the menace still.

Rising to his feet, Splinter rested with his hands on his knees for a moment, finally standing up when he had caught his breath.

“Thank you for getting me: I’d rather be painfully reminded how out of shape I am than have the little monster ruin the cake.” Splinter said the last part with fatherly affection, pinching the little mutant’s cheek much to Joseph’s amusement. “Speaking of cake…” Splinter turned to the three boys, futilely attempting to hide the door behind them as they greeted their dad with panicked smiles. “Weren’t you two supposed to be in the kitchen decorating? And you, Blue, you’re supposed to be watching Joseph as well. I better have a good reason to see you three slacking off on my wedding day.” Splinter said, crossing his arms.

“Leo kinda got roped into one of Draxum’s little diva moments, Splints. I’m guessing Thing 1 and Thing 2 are helping out since this is Bridezilla’s room and all.” April defended, Raph confirming as best he could with a wriggling Joseph in his arms. Splinter sighed and rubbed his face, he himself also exasperated at Draxum’s behavior, overhearing some of today’s outburst earlier. The yokai was usually picky at best, but this wedding stuff made him down right insufferable, worried about everything and nothing at the same time.

“Ah, I’m sorry boys, I should have just stepped in and-”

“NO!” The three boys shouted in unison. The group stared at them, shocked and suspicious.

“Uh-” Leo stammered, “We know you were getting ready and everything and didn’t want to bother you! You look great by the way! That gold really compliments your eyes! Did you get a haircut?” Leo’s attempt at redirecting his father’s attention was met with a raised eyebrow from Splinter, crossing his arms again. Donnie’s turn.

“You know, I think we should get back to the cake and finish it all together! Really put in a collective effort to just knock Draxum’s veil off when he sees it! Now, who's in favor of getting to that cake and as far away from this door as possible? Yes- everyone- great, let’s go!” Splinter stepped in front of Donnie as he attempted to lead everyone away, looking up at him demandingly. Donnie slunk back to his position against the door. Splinter turned to Mikey.

“Michelangelo Hamato, what is going on here?” Splinter took up an angry, authoritative tone the boys rarely heard. Mikey looked around, trying to find a way out of this or at least stall to help the group come up with a convincing lie. Out of options and under his dad’s intense gaze, he finally sighed in defeat: he couldn’t lie to his dad about something like this.

“Draxum… Draxum locked himself in his room. We tried getting him out, but he’s not talking to any of us. He said he ‘can’t do this’ regarding the wedding before he did this and… it’s not one of his usual episodes. We really think he’s serious this time.” Silence fell over everyone, heavy and thick. Raph and April glanced at each other before turning their gaze to Splinter. Even Joseph's mindless babble stopped for a moment. The wedding was over? Just like that? No one knew quite the right way to break the silence that had fallen upon them.

“Sorry, dad…” Leo apologized, feeling like he was to blame since he couldn’t fix this to begin with.

“No, don’t… don’t apologize, Blue. It’s not your fault. It’s…I...” Splinter trailed off pinching the bridge of his nose with a long sigh following. “...Is he still in there?”

“I don’t see when he would have left...” Donnie solemnly answered.

Collecting himself, Splinter put his plan in motion. “Alright, everyone go back to what they were doing, I’ll have a talk with him. Alone.”

April chimed in. “Are you sure Splinter? I mean I have no issue watching Joseph with Raph but-”

“It’s fine, April. This is officially adult business. Now go on, all of you. Especially you two making the cake, it’s not finishing itself.” Splinter said the last part with a small smile, but it was apparent that it was meant to comfort himself more than the kids. A hope that this was still happening. Wordlessly, the kids slowly shifted away from the area to leave Splinter and Draxum alone, Mikey having to be gently pulled away by Leo when he stopped to look at his dad, wanting to say something encouraging despite finding nothing positive about the situation.

Splinter knocked despite knowing full well that Draxum heard the commotion outside his door. “Hey, Draxum…?” When he received no answer, he tried the door, still locked. Rather than bust the door down, Splinter grabbed one of the bobby pins in his hair. He learned this trick for one of his spy focused films, insisting on actually picking locks for added realism despite the absurdity that the Lou Jitsu films were known for. After messing with the lock for a moment, he heard the telltale click of the lock opening. Splinter went to turn the knob, but paused, his anxiety coming to a head.

If he opened this door, he’d have to confront this. Learn why Draxum called it off, if he was serious, and why. “Why?” was the scariest question about this: Draxum could truly just be nervous, not sure how to handle this without running away, his explosive behavior during the past month evident of that. Despite the leaps and bounds made in their relationship, Draxum had never been the best at communication without outside help. Or… maybe Draxum finally realized he honestly didn’t wish to go through with this. Maybe because of Draxum’s own shortcomings. Maybe Splinter’s. His heart sank at the thought. “Gutter trash.” It was one of the first things Draxum said to him upon their reunion. Splinter shook his head: no, Draxum and him had grown far past such hostility. It was long and slow, but their ill will for each other found itself replaced with begrudged tolerance, tentative affection, soft touches, awkward kisses… love.

Splinter didn’t want to believe he had been lied to in such a way again. He didn’t know what he’d do if he was.

...He could turn around and leave Draxum alone. Pretend this never happened and let their relationship go back to how it was before he proposed. Keep the peace. Swallow down the uncertainty. The fear. Splinter’s hands felt clammy as his grip tightened around the doorknob.

“I’m coming in.” Splinter called out, both to himself and Draxum, before opening the door and stepping in. Surprisingly, the room was empty: Splinter had expected to find Draxum on the bed or in one of the chairs in the room, but none of the furniture in the room even looked disturbed. Closing the door behind him, Splinter moved further in, looking around for any sign of Draxum. Did he even come in here in the first place? Splinter was about to search around the base before setting his eyes on the closet door, left ajar. Tentatively stepping towards the closet door, Splinter slowly opened it. 

Found him.

Draxum sat in the corner of the closet, barely wide enough to accommodate the man yet making him look quite small all the same. The hanging clothes were pushed out the way by his frame, obscuring him as they draped over him and crumpling the veil pinned into his long, wooly hair, which he wore down. Draxum donned his wedding dress: it was white with the long-sleeved top made of lace that resembled ivy, the bottom half being a set of silky ruffles that went down just above his knee, fashioned in a way not unlike a tutu due to its protruding shape. Draxum was crumpled over himself, arms wrapped around the knees brought up to his chest and his forehead resting against them, not looking up at Splinter despite his intrusion. Draxum looked like a hiding child, waiting for Splinter to simply go away.

“Hey…” Splinter started as he rested against the doorframe next to Draxum, still not bothering to respond or even shift. “You okay?” Splinter asked. He let out a sign as Draxum remained quiet and unmoving. Splinter reached out, placing a hand on Draxum’s head, planning to pet it only for Draxum to pull away suddenly though there was little room to get away in the already small closet.

“Don’t-” Draxum said sharply, raising one of his arms defensively as Splinter reflectively pulled his arm back. Draxum turned his head away from Splinter, facing the closet wall.

“At least I know you’re not dead in here.” Splinter joked, the attempt at humor lost on both of them. They fell back into silence. “What’s going on, huh? Don’t you have some plate colors to nitpick over? Maybe looking over the boys’ outfits for a hem that’s out of place?” Draxum sniffled in response, but did little more than return his arm to his side. Splinter furrowed his brow and frowned: seeing Draxum like this made him feel as though a hand was wrapped around his heart and slowly squeezing to see how long it took until it popped. Splinter crouched down, crawling into the closet with Draxum, who weakly turned his body away to further obscure his face.

“Leave me alone, Lou.” Draxum protested as Splinter settled in front of him. Instead, Splinter cupped Draxum’s face, slowly pulling it so they were finally facing each other. Draxum refused to look at Splinter and it was obvious why: his face was covered in running mascara, undeniable evidence of what he was doing.

“Guess April was right about getting the waterproof stuff after all…” Splinter said, raising his other hand to wipe at the still wet makeup, now cupping Draxum’s face on both sides.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Draxum replied stubbornly, refusing to acknowledge he had even been pushed to this kind of behavior despite being caught red-handed. “I’m fine. Now go back to… whatever you were doing before or, I don’t know, help the boys out with the cake or decorating, I don’t care. Just leave me alone.” Draxum pushed one of Splinter’s hands off so he could turn away again. He couldn’t deny the comfort of the remaining hand, stroking his cheek.

“Your hair looks nice.” Splinter complemented, echoing the bits of Draxum’s outburst from earlier he heard in his room while getting ready. Draxum scoffed, fully pulling away from Splinter touch as he sat up against the wall.

“Nice this, great that, fine everything else! It’s- I-!” Draxum was flustered, stammering as he raised his voice and hands in frustration. Before he could fully work himself up to another outburst, Draxum deflated with his arms dropping to his sides and slumping against the wall.

“...It’s not enough.” Draxum spoke more so at Splinter than to him. “Nice isn’t enough for this. Your human weddings are so different from yokai’s, but they’re still proper and put together and... completely wonderful. They’re described as magical despite not a hint of anything mystic involved. It’s meant to be the best day of your life in big, beautiful venues or luscious parks with just as wonderful decorations and big crowds of friends and family and…” Draxum swallowed as tears began to weld up in his eyes again. “I… took that from you, Lou. You could have returned to your life, married a fellow actor or other star like yourself, had the most extravagant wedding, attended by hundreds, probably viewed by thousands if I hadn’t meddled and… and…” 

Draxum’s face was twisted into anger and disgust as further mascara ran down his face. “Because of me, we’re stuck in the sewers with the most thrown together set up that I’m fruitlessly trying to make… make perfect.” Draxum stressed the last part bitterly, mocking himself for thinking it was even possible. “Perfect…” He echoed, the word painful on his tongue. “Like marrying me could be close to anything you deserve!” Draxum angrily snatched off his veil and violently threw it out the closet, his hair flying in his face while he angrily covered his face with his hands. “I’m an imbecile. What was I thinking that, that I…” Draxum mumbled, his high strung emotions causing him to shake.

“Just… just call off the wedding already, Lou. It’s fine. It’s… I understand. I do.” Draxum sounded small and defeated, accepting this as the only possible outcome.

“...You kept threatening to call off the wedding because you assumed I wanted to?” Splinter felt like he understood Draxum’s behavior for the first time in a month.

“Yes!” Draxum’s head shot up, finally looking at Splinter. Draxum paused when he saw a sympathetic look on Splinter’s face and a soft smile. He didn’t understand why Splinter kept drawing this out.

“I came in here because I thought I’d have to deal with… you honest to god not wanting to get married or… not wanting anything to do with me. This is a relief really. Not that you being upset is a relief but...” Splinter said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Not want anything to do with you? Absurd. Completely preposterous.” Draxum swiftly dismissed. “You’re- you’re great, Lou. Perfect, the best person I know while I’m just-”

“-The person I want to spend the rest of my life with.” Splinter interrupted, wanting to put Draxum’s worries to rest once and for all. Splinter let out an amused chuckle when Draxum looked at him, wide-eyed and shocked. “What? Does proposing mean something else among yokai?”

“N-no… but I thought… maybe because of Michelangelo or-” Draxum hushed as Splinter took his hands in his own, rubbing the back of Draxum’s hands with his thumbs.

“Draxum, I couldn’t imagine a better wedding than this. Do you have any idea how much I have to love you just to risk proposing to someone again? Risk being hurt and betrayed because I trust you enough to not… repeat someone else’s mistake? Repeat your own?” Draxum remained silent as he squeezed Splinter’s hands tighter. “You’ve hurt me before, we both know this, but you’ve done everything in your power to show you’ve changed and do right by me and my boys. Our boys.” Draxum sniffled as Splinter continued looking at him lovingly. “I forgave you a long time ago, and yet you kept doing everything to prove you cared about Mikey, the rest of the boys… me. You didn’t even expect or want anything from me in return after a point, you just... needed me to know. And I do. You’ve shown me so well.” Splinter took one of his hands to caress Draxum’s face again, admiring every inch of it.

“Now I just need you to know that love and care about you too.”

Draxum, fully sobbing at this point, pulled Splinter into a hug, staining the collar of Splinter’s shirt with his mascara as he buried his face into his neck. Neither of them cared, embracing each other as Splinter himself was moved to tears himself, though Draxum was outdoing him by a longshot due to finally having such a deep-rooted worry settled.

They stayed like this for a while, Splinter rubbing Draxum’s back as the yokai held him like they might lose each other if he let go. Draxum’s mascara stained face was somehow the model of contentment.

“You know, tears are usually for when you’re at the altar.” Splinter absentmindedly remarked.

“And the groom’s not supposed to see the bride until the ceremony. Not a lot of rules we’re following here.” Draxum smiled as he heard Splinter laugh in response.

“No, no, I guess not…” Splinter said gleefully. He could stay like this forever with Draxum in his arms. Good thing today was about making that a reality.

“Lou?” Draxum interrupted his thoughts as he sat up just enough to look at Splinter again. Their noses were almost touching.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you… for making sure I didn’t make another mistake.” Draxum smiled. Walking away from this… it's the one thing he could never forgive himself for.

They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, entranced. Slowly, they inched towards one another, their lips brushing together before-

“OW! Watch it, Raph!”

“You watch it!”

“Shush, they’re gonna hear you two!”

Ah. They nearly forgot about the wedding and its attendees.

The pair looked at each other and laughed after a moment. Rising from the closet, the two straighten their clothes, Draxum picking up his veil and pinning it back in as Splinter suddenly opened the door. To no one’s surprise, this led to a pile of five teenagers and an infant falling through onto the bedroom’s floor. They all groaned, with exception of Joseph who was on top of the pile, gleefully raising his arms at the sight of Draxum, wanting to be picked up. Draxum smiled as he did just that, looking down at the remaining mountain of pained kids.

“Thank you for looking after Joseph during your eavesdropping.” Draxum said as he was trying to stop Joseph from tugging his veil off.

“Whaaaat? Eavesdropping? Never!” Leo so convincingly played off, pinned at the bottom of the pile along with Mikey.

“No, we were just, um, running after Joseph again! Right guys?” Raph said, raising from the top of the pile, which groaned in agreement. Splinter rolled his eyes and laughed.

“And here I thought April was a good influence on you boys, tsk tsk.” Splinter jokingly scolded the girl who was redoing one of the bows that had come loose during the fall. She smiled sheepishly, unable to defend herself.

“Is… is the wedding still happening? It’s still happening right?!” Mikey said, frantically looking between his two dads as their happy demeanors gave him hope, prompting the rest of the spies to do similar. They were all anxiously waiting for the answer. Draxum and Splinter looked at one another and smiled.

“It is, Mi- hey!” Draxum could barely get the confirmation out before Mikey practically jumped on him, nearly knocking Draxum and Joseph to the ground. The rest of the group cheered, Raph and April doing a double high five while Donnie and Leo trapped their dad in a hug in celebration, his chubby cheeks squished between the faces of his two boys.

“Yesyesyesyesyes! I knew you two would work things out!” Mikey beamed, still clinging to Draxum.

“Even when you were sobbing uncontrollably that we all had to comfort you through?” Donnie sarcastically chimed, though with a playful and friendly edge.

“Especially then! Oh my gosh, we still haven’t finished the cake!” Mikey flung off Draxum, grabbing Donnie and bolting to the kitchen, the boy almost tripping over his feet.

“I need to call my parents and Sunita to tell them it’s still on! I knew I didn’t help Sunita pick out a nice dress for nothing!” April said as she grabbed her phone, heading to the surface for better reception.

“Leo, me and you have to clean up the mess Joseph made when he ran off. It’s go time!”

“Roger!” Leo said, dropping Splinter onto his feet as he and Raph determinedly ran towards the main room, leaving Draxum and Splinter alone with Joseph.

After shaking his head in amusement, Splinter reached up and held Draxum’s hand, who in turn entwined their fingers.

“So… you want to keep the punk look? Or are you gonna fix your makeup?” Splinter playful inquired.

“I’ll fix my face if you fix your… everything.” Draxum said, just now realizing how disheveled Splinter was from his hair to clothes. “What happened?”

“Our little meat monster happened. C’mon, let’s get ready before the rest of the guests arrive. We got an hour at best.” Splinter said, leading Draxum by the hand out of the room. As Draxum closed the door, he thought that in a way he was glad he got out all his tears in private rather than during the actual ceremony. However, he still planned to use the waterproof stuff this time. 

Just in case.


End file.
